Departments: Public Expenditure

Oliver Letwin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what accounts directions were issued by his Department in financial years  (a) 2005-06 and  (b) 2006-07.

Jonathan R Shaw: Under the Government Resource and Accounts Act 2000 HM Treasury issue accounts directions to departments, pension schemes and agencies and under the Government Trading Fund Act 1973 to trading funds.
	For the years 2005-06 and 2006-07 Department has issued accounts directions for the form and content of resource and other accounts to the following sponsored bodies;
	 2005-06
	British Potato Council
	British Waterways Board
	Consumer Council For Water
	Covent Garden Market Authority
	English Nature
	Environment Agency
	Food From Britain
	Gangmasters Licensing Authority
	Home Grown Cereals Authority
	Horticultural Development Council
	Meat and Livestock Commission
	Milk Development Council
	Royal Botanical Gardens Kew
	 2006-07
	British Potato Council
	British Waterways Board
	Countryside Agency
	Commission For Rural Communities
	Covent Garden Market Authority
	English Nature
	Food From Britain
	Gangmasters Licensing Authority
	Home Grown Cereals Authority
	Horticultural Development Council
	Meat and Livestock Commission
	Milk Development Council
	Natural England
	Royal Botanical Gardens Kew

Flood Control

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans he has to implement the recommendations of the review, Flooding Lessons Learned, chaired by Sir Michael Pitt.

Phil Woolas: The Government awaits the findings of the Flooding Lessons Learned review and will respond as positively as possible to the recommendations.

Youth Citizenship Commission

David Mundell: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when the Government expects to launch the Youth Citizenship Commission, as announced in the Green Paper: The Governance of Britain; and what discussions he has had with the Scottish Executive on the involvement of young people from Scotland in the initiative.

Beverley Hughes: I have been asked to reply.
	The Youth Citizenship Commission will report to the Prime Minister, the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families and the Secretary of State for Justice. It will be launched this autumn. There have been discussions at official level between the Secretariat for the Commission and the Scottish Executive.

Departments: Correspondence

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what guidance his Department follows on the maximum time taken to respond to hon. Members' correspondence; and what performance against that target was in the most recent period for which figures are available.

Peter Hain: The Wales Office complies with Cabinet Office guidelines for the maximum time for responding to correspondence.
	The Wales Office publishes correspondence statistics in its annual report and to the Cabinet Office for their annual report to Parliament.
	The latest figures for April 2006 to March 2007 were 93 per cent. of correspondence answered with 15 days of receipt.

Internet: Copyright

Edward Vaizey: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what discussions he has had with the Secretaries of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills and Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform on the implementation of recommendation 39 of the Gowers Review, on internet service providers' responsibility for copyright theft.

Margaret Hodge: As Minister with responsibility for the creative industries, I have had discussions with my hon. Friend the Minister for Intellectual Property and Quality at the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills, and my right hon. Friend, the Minister for Competitiveness at the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform in relation to progress on the implementation of a range of recommendations from the Cowers review, including recommendation 39.

Visit Scotland

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the locations are of the overseas offices of  (a) Visit Scotland and  (b) Visit Wales.

Margaret Hodge: Neither VisitScotland nor VisitWales operate overseas offices.
	However, under an agreement made between DCMS and the Scottish Executive in March 2005, VisitScotland carries out overseas marketing through VisitBritain's offices in Germany, France, the Netherlands and Eire.
	VisitWales has two members of staff working in VisitBritain's New York office. These are the only representatives from VisitWales located overseas.

Visit Scotland

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much funding his Department provided to  (a) Visit Scotland and  (b) Visit Wales in each of the last five years.

Margaret Hodge: VisitScotland and VisitWales are fully funded by the Scottish Executive and the Welsh Assembly respectively. Neither receive any funding from DCMS.

Parents: Disadvantaged

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what support his Department provides to parents in areas with high levels of gang and gun-related crime to help ensure that children do not become involved in criminal activity.

Beverley Hughes: We are providing extra funding this year to areas where gun knife and gang crime is most prevalent to accelerate the roll out of extended schools. Parenting support is an important part of the extended schools core offer of services. There are currently over 7,000 schools providing access to the core offer of services and by 2010 all schools will be offering these services.
	In addition, DCSF is leading a number of wider activities that will provide parents with support to help them steer their children away from trouble. These include launching the £34 million Parent Know How programme; establishing the National Academy for Parenting Practitioners; investing £4 million to employ Respect parenting practitioners, targeted at helping parents whose children are most at risk of engaging in antisocial behaviour; we have established a national network of 53 Family Intervention Projects supporting families facing the most problems; and we have set up, in 18 local authorities, Parenting Early Intervention Pathfinders for parents of younger children who are at risk of negative outcomes.

Video Games: Violence

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families 
	(1)  what process is to be followed by the online review into the effect of violent video games;
	(2)  which groups and organisations have been approached to take part in the review into the effect of violent video games;
	(3)  when he expects the review into the effect of violent video games will be complete; and when the results will be published;
	(4)  whether there are any other data collection methods the review into violent video games will use other than the online questionnaire.

Beverley Hughes: The review being carried out by Dr. Tanya Byron will consider the evidence on the risks to children and young people from inappropriate or harmful content in video games and the internet and assess the effectiveness and adequacy of existing measures to protect them and support parents.
	An open call for evidence was published by Dr. Byron on 9 October 2007, running until 30 November 2007. It asks respondents to respond online via the Department's website or to email or post responses to the questions posed in the call for evidence document.
	A children and young people's call for evidence is due out in week commencing 22 October 2007 and will be promoted through a wide range of media platforms (including social networking sites and online debates).
	In addition to considering responses to these two, open calls for evidence the Byron Review will draw upon a wide range of existing evidence, including published commentary and research literature, and will undertake some further research in areas where gaps in the literature have been identified.
	Since the Review was announced on 8 September 2007, the review has met with groups, organisations and individuals representing parents; children and young people; those involved in the welfare, education and safety of children; the academic and research community; the video gaming industry; gamers; the internet industry (including producers, content aggregators, web hosts, internet service providers, search and navigation providers, consumer device manufacturers and retailers); advertising and retail bodies; government agencies; other statutory and non-statutory public bodies and third sector organisations, Dr. Byron and her team will continue to meet with key stakeholders throughout the period of the Review, and that they welcome input from any interested person or organisation.
	The final report (due to be published in March 2008) will make recommendations to the Secretaries of State for Children's Schools and Families and Culture Media and Sport. This will include a list of individuals and groups that have contributed to the Review.

Indian Sub-Continent: Entry Clearances

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many visas have been  (a) issued and  (b) refused by his Department in (i) Bangladesh, (ii) India and (iii) Pakistan since 2001.

Kim Howells: The following table displays the total number of UK visa applications issued and refused by our visa sections in Bangladesh, India and Pakistan since 2001.
	
		
			   2001-02  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06 
			   Issued  Refused  Issued  Refused  Issued  Refused  Issued  Refused  Issued  Refused 
			 Chennai 40,646 3,460 46,193 8,653 55,944 12,526 68,675 13,712 81,526 13,659 
			 Kolkata 9,907 199 10,776 329 11,813 880 13,155 1,101 14,923 979 
			 Mumbai 66,108 7,960 71,776 10,907 91,070 20,216 109,845 25,728 119,130 28,953 
			 New Delhi 64,343 12,517 67,948 19,753 81,479 25,013 88,862 32,363 100,893 33,079 
			 India 181,004 24,136 196,693 39,642 240,306 58,635 280,537 72,904 316,472 76,670 
			
			 Dhaka 19,896 7,671 21,504 10,658 21,748 11,914 20,837 19,153 27,554 16,543 
			 Bangladesh 19,896 7,671 21,504 10,658 21,748 11,914 20,837 19,153 27,554 16,543 
			
			 Islamabad 56,182 24,420 42,844 7,670 92,189 21,768 91,446 76,640 89,821 61,044 
			 Lahore(1) 8,289 2,549 — — — — — — — — 
			 Karachi 28,634 7,904 9,788 2,503 1,793 7 11,505 5,003 20,665 7,568 
			 Pakistan 93,105 34,873 52,632 10,173 93,982 21,775 102,951 81,643 110,486 68,612 
			 (1) The visa section at the British Trade Office in Lahore closed in 2002.  Source: UK visas Published Entry Clearance Statistics from 2001-02 to 2005-06

Iraq: Overseas Workers

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs 
	(1)  how many UK citizens working for UK-based private security contractors in Iraq were  (a) killed and  (b) injured in each of the last five years;
	(2)  how many UK citizens working for non UK-based private security contractors in Iraq were  (a) killed and  (b) injured in each of the last five years;
	(3)  how many people employed by UK-based security contractors in Iraq were  (a) killed and  (b) injured in each of the last five years;
	(4)  how many people employed by UK-based contractors in Iraq not concerned with security matters were  (a) killed and  (b) injured in each of the last five years;
	(5)  how many UK citizens working for non UK-based contractors in Iraq not concerned with security matters were  (a) killed and  (b) injured in each of the last five years;
	(6)  how many UK citizens working for UK-based contractors in Iraq not concerned with security matters were  (a) killed and  (b) injured in each of the last five years.

Kim Howells: Our consular records show that at least 72 British civilians have died in Iraq since March 2003.
	2003—6
	2004—23
	2005—12
	2006—22
	2007—9
	This number includes deaths from natural causes but is not a definitive figure as records include only those cases where consular assistance has been sought. The figure does not include British dual nationals or unrepresented foreign nationals.
	We also have records of 78 British civilians who have been injured in Iraq over the same period.
	2003—7
	2004—30
	2005—15
	2006—1
	2007—15
	We do not collect data in a form, which would enable us to distinguish between private security companies or other contractors nor the country of origin of those employers. Consular officials do not have accurate figures on non-British nationals in the above categories.

Bus Services: Concessions

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  how much has been allocated to Chorley Borough Council to fund the free local concessionary bus travel scheme in 2007-08;
	(2)  what increase in the rate support grant Chorley Borough Council will receive to fund free national off-peak travel for pensioners and disabled people for 2008-09.

Rosie Winterton: From April 2006, older and disabled people have been guaranteed free off-peak local bus travel within their local authority area. The existing funding for statutory concessionary fares is supported through Formula Grant, which comprises Revenue Support Grant, Redistributed Business Rates and Principal Formula Police Grant.
	Formula Grant is an unhypothecated block grant i.e. authorities are free to spend the money on any service. Because of this and the method of calculation, particularly floor damping (which guarantees local authorities at least a minimum percentage increase by scaling back increases for other authorities), it is not possible to say how much of the total Formula Grant funding is for any particular service.
	Local authorities have the discretion to offer (and fund from their own resources) enhancements to the statutory minimum, such as peak bus travel and/or concessions on other modes.
	The £212 million of extra funding to English authorities for the national bus concession from April 2008 will be distributed by a non-ringfenced special grant via a formula. The Department has recently published a consultation paper on the formula basis for distribution of the special grant. This new consultation supersedes the Department for Communities and Local Government's consultation on the formula grant options for concessionary fares. Local authorities have been asked to respond to the special grant consultation by 23 November.
	In addition, we have announced that we will be providing local authorities with approximately £30 million for the issuing of the national pass; it is likely that Chorley borough council will receive around £69,000 of this additional funding.

Child Support Agency: Manpower

Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the likely impact of proposed reductions in staffing of the Child Support Agency (CSA) on the effectiveness of the CSA and its successor the Child Maintenance and Support Commission.

James Plaskitt: The Agency is committed to meeting both the departmentally agreed headcount target of 9,547 by March 2008 and the Secretary of State performance targets for the coming year, computer system improvements as part of the Agency's Operational Improvement Plan will ensure client service in both CSA, and later C-MEC, will not be affected by this reduction in headcount.

Children: Maintenance

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the proportion of HM Revenue and Customs gross income data which will be  (a) less than one year out of date,  (b) more than one year out of date and  (c) more than two years out of date when calculating child maintenance under the new Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission; and if he will make a statement.

James Plaskitt: Under the proposed scheme, non-resident parents maintenance liabilities will be based on their gross income for the latest tax year available from Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs at the time that a case is opened or is subject to an annual review.
	With the increased focus on parents agreeing to voluntary arrangements and the ending of the requirement that parents with care on benefit be treated as applying for child maintenance, not all of the current Child Support Agency case load will choose to use the statutory maintenance service. Since we do not know the precise composition of the resulting case load, no estimates have been made on the proportion of Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs gross income data which will be  (a) less than one year out of date,  (b) more than one year out of date and  (c) more than two years out of date when calculating child maintenance under the new Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission.

Children: Maintenance

Anne Moffat: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps the Department is taking to enable the recovery of historical debt of non-resident parents by the new Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission.

James Plaskitt: holding answer 8 October 2007
	We want to take firm action at the earliest opportunity against non-resident parents who do not fulfil their responsibility to pay maintenance.
	The Child Support Agency has already begun to improve the recovery of debt as part of the Operational Improvement Plan and is committed to recovering over £200 million historic debt by 2009.
	The Commission will build on the current Child Support Agency debt strategy and the success of the Operational Improvement Plan. Through the Child Maintenance and Other Payments Bill we intend to strengthen the range of enforcement and debt management powers that will be at the disposal of the Commission. The Bill proposes new and streamlined enforcement provisions such as administrative liability orders, disqualification from holding or obtaining a travel authorisation, collection of maintenance directly from accounts held by financial institutions, enforcing the surrender of a non-resident parent's passport and imposing a curfew.
	New debt management powers, such as the ability to accept part payment of arrears in full and final settlement, will, where appropriate, take account of the wishes of the parent with care. These powers will help the Commission manage debt, including interim maintenance assessment debt. The new debt management and enforcement measures will be used both to encourage ongoing compliance to prevent the new debt building up, and enable more of the accumulated debt to be recovered.

Animal Experiments

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department at how many of the establishments in the UK with a certificate of designation under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 there is at least one member of the animal care staff or licensee constantly on site.

Meg Hillier: holding answer 15 October 2007
	 The information requested is not held by the Home Office.
	Primary responsibility for animals used in regulated procedures rests with the personal licensee concerned. Under personal licence standard conditions 12 and 15 set out in Appendix E to the published Guidance on the Operation of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 (HC321) the personal licensee must ensure that animals are properly monitored and cared for and that suitable arrangements exist for the care and welfare of any animals during any period when the personal licensee is not in attendance.
	In addition, certificate of designation standard conditions 4 and 9 set out in Appendix B to the guidance require that establishments must be appropriately staffed at all times to ensure the well-being of the protected animals and that they must be provided with adequate care and accommodation appropriate to their type or species. Further requirements are set out in certificate of designation standard conditions 10 and 12.
	In practice, professional judgment is exercised on a case-by-case basis by the personal licensee, named veterinary surgeon and named animal care and welfare officer to decide the level of care to be provided, which could involve 24 hour monitoring.

Consultants: Costs

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which private consultancy firms  (a) her Department and  (b) agencies which report to her Department engaged in each of the last three years; which programmes or projects each firm worked on; and what the approximate cost to the Department or agency concerned was of each engagement.

Liam Byrne: The Home Department engages consultancy firms to support and augment civil servants in the delivery of a specific range of work, including large IT development programmes and where more cost-effective, longer term service delivery programmes.
	The Department's expenditure on these services is allocated across a very wide range of firms, ranging from small, specialist companies with niche expertise and few employees, to global multinational organisations offering a broad spectrum and substantial depth of consultancy expertise.
	The Department awards contracts in competition according to the EU procurement regulations based on best value for money. The Department uses OGC framework agreements where appropriate. The use of external consultants in the Home Office provides the Department with specialist knowledge, skills, capacity and technical expertise that would not otherwise be available to it. Some of the expenditure is on consultants to whom we have outsourced services to, such as IT.
	The information held by the Home Department on its spend on consultancy and professional legal services is as follows:
	2004-05: centrally held data are not available on a like-for-like basis, owing to a change in financial recording systems in that period.
	2005-06: consultancy: £137 million; legal; £21 million: total: £158 million.
	2006-07: consultancy: £148 million; legal: £28 million; total: £176 million.
	2007-08: during the current financial year, the Home Department is refining and improving its approach to the management of consultancy spend including a more rigorous demand management and approval process. Year to date figures indicate a reduction in spend which we are forecasting to be maintained throughout the current financial year.
	The breakdown across agencies and the Department are as follows.
	A breakdown of expenditure by engagement by company is not held centrally and to attempt to assemble it would incur disproportionate cost. The top 10 companies by total expenditure across the Home Office in the last three years are as follows. The companies are listed in alphabetical order; the amount spent with each company is not shown on grounds of commercial confidentiality.
	
		
			  Table 1: Home Department expenditure with consultancy companies for 2005-06 and 2006-07 
			   Borders and Immigration Agency  Home Office  Identity and Passport Service  Total 
			  2005-06 
			 Consultancy 54 74 9 137 
			 Legal 17 4 0 21 
			 Total 71 78 9 158 
			  
			  2006-07 
			 Consultancy 44 74 30 148 
			 Legal 23 5 0 28 
			 Total 67 79 30 176 
		
	
	 Top 10 companies by total expenditure across the Home Office in the last three years
	Cap Gemini
	Capita Resourcing Ltd.
	Deloitte
	Drivers Jonas
	Hedra BearingPoint
	IBM
	LogicaCMG
	PA Consulting Group
	Parity Resources
	Siemens Business Services Ltd.

European Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings

Denis MacShane: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will make a statement on the timetable for the UK's ratification of the Council of Europe Convention on Trafficking of Human Beings.

Liam Byrne: The Government are determined to ratify the Convention as soon as we can but are determined to get the arrangements right before doing so. We need to be compliant with the Convention before formal ratification. Some of the other signatories to the Convention have legal systems that allow or require ratification before implementation—ours does not. The UK is already largely compliant with the Convention but some amendments to primary/secondary legislation will be required, as will the development of guidance and the institution of new processes. A dedicated project team within the Border and Immigration Agency is leading delivery of the changes needed to comply with the Convention and is reporting regularly to a cross-government official project board and Ministerial Group. Action against trafficking is continuing and is not on hold pending ratification. During the ongoing, police led anti trafficking operation, Pentameter 2 we are piloting an identification process and a 30 day reflection period, as required by Article 10 and 13 of the Convention.

Forensic Science Service

Ian Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps she is taking to re-organise the Government's Forensic Service.

Meg Hillier: The Forensic Science Service was an Executive agency of the Home Office until December 2005 when it was vested as a Government owned limited company (GovCo). In accordance with commitments given to Parliament in March 2006, I am currently considering whether there should be a further change of status, and if so, what that status should be. I hope to be in a position to make an in principle decision by the end of the year.

Work Permits

James Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 9 October 2007, to question 149263, on work permits, if she will give a break down of the 20 non-EU nationalities receiving the most work permits for (i) doctors and (ii) nurses in each of the last 10 years.

Liam Byrne: The tables show the number of approved work permit applications that were issued to the top 20 non-EU nationality recipients of work permits (and others) for (i) doctors (table 1) and (ii) nurses (table 2) during the period 1999 to 2006. Data for 1997 and 1998 are not available. There have been no approvals for auxiliary nurses during this period.
	The figures quoted are not provided under National Statistics protocols and have been derived from local management information and are therefore provisional and subject to change.
	
		
			  Table 1: work permits issued to doctors in the top 20 non-EU countries from 1999-2006 
			  Non-EU state  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006  Total 
			 India 60 200 610 955 1,585 2,325 2,060 1,740 9,535 
			 South Africa 40 95 370 1,005 755 565 300 265 3,390 
			 Pakistan 15 60 140 215 290 475 425 375 1,995 
			 China Peoples Republic of 5 40 110 140 170 160 200 215 1,040 
			 Egypt 10 20 100 115 115 120 85 85 655 
			 Nigeria 5 30 55 65 80 95 100 125 550 
			 Sri Lanka * * 20 55 65 110 110 120 485 
			 Australia * 10 60 75 85 80 60 65 435 
			 Malaysia * 5 20 55 55 65 75 135 405 
			 Libya 5 20 35 55 60 45 50 30 300 
			 Syrian Arab Republic 0 5 25 30 55 55 55 40 265 
			 Myanmar 0 * 15 15 55 50 75 35 255 
			 Trinidad and Tobago * 5 20 35 45 45 30 40 230 
			 Sudan 5 15 20 35 45 45 35 30 230 
			 Iran 0 0 5 10 20 40 40 55 170 
			 New Zealand 0 5 25 25 30 20 15 15 135 
			 Bangladesh 5 5 10 20 20 20 20 30 125 
			 Jordan * 0 5 10 20 30 30 30 125 
			 Zimbabwe 0 * 5 15 20 30 25 20 120 
			 Iraq 5 5 5 10 25 15 25 30 120 
			 Others 10 65 145 180 230 295 255 350 1,525 
			 Total 170 580 1,805 3,120 3,820 4,690 4,070 3,830 22,090 
			 * = Indicates one or two.  Notes: 1. Figures are rounded to nearest five. 2. Because of rounding, figures may not add up to totals shown. 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: work permits issued to nurses in the top 20 non-EU countries from 1999-2006 
			  Non-EU state  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006  Total 
			 Philippines 575 6,760 10,440 11,145 10,960 8,875 4,870 2,840 56,460 
			 India 70 915 2,790 3,935 5,475 7,265 7,230 4,440 32,120 
			 South Africa 415 1,755 2,750 3,410 3,365 2,895 2,010 1,135 17,730 
			 Zimbabwe 275 1,165 1,915 2,700 2,730 2,980 2,330 1,610 15,705 
			 Nigeria 250 925 1,165 1,720 1,335 1,345 1,165 600 8,505 
			 Ghana 50 310 530 635 770 745 650 290 3,980 
			 Australia 80 505 620 555 530 440 370 300 3,400 
			 Pakistan 10 85 410 455 415 515 515 290 2,700 
			 Mauritius 55 200 320 375 430 460 350 175 2,365 
			 Zambia 25 150 345 430 430 385 350 195 2,315 
			 Trinidad and Tobago 165 440 390 360 310 255 190 110 2,215 
			 Kenya 20 115 275 395 385 390 255 145 1,980 
			 Jamaica 85 320 310 260 190 220 240 145 1,775 
			 New Zealand 45 235 285 265 220 180 115 85 1,430 
			 Guyana 10 35 80 120 160 295 225 180 1,110 
			 China Peoples Republic of 5 60 105 90 130 160 130 105 790 
			 Botswana * 35 115 110 105 125 140 70 705 
			 Malawi 10 40 95 115 120 115 125 70 700 
			 Malaysia 40 140 135 120 75 70 60 40 685 
			 Nepal 5 15 45 70 90 155 150 150 680 
			 Others 235 925 1,230 1,465 1,370 1,305 1,200 705 8,435 
			 Total 2,430 15,130 24,355 28,740 29,590 29,180 22,670 13,685 165,780 
			 * = Indicates one or two.  Notes: 1. Figures are rounded to nearest five. 2. Because of rounding, figures may not add up to totals shown.

Armed Forces: Housing

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what representations he has had from former service personnel groups regarding the supply of affordable housing; and if he will make a statement.

Derek Twigg: The Department for Communities and Local Government and the devolved administrations lead on social housing matters but the Ministry of Defence is in regular contact with them on veterans' housing issues. As Minister for Veterans, I have frequent contact with ex-service organisations. Various initiatives to reduce the risk of homelessness among service leavers and veterans have been discussed but neither my officials nor I recall the specific subject of the supply of affordable housing being raised. The Joint Services Housing Advice Office provides practical advice on access to affordable housing to current armed forces personnel and those who are soon to leave the services.

Armed Forces: Pay

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many and what proportion of members of the armed forces who served on the front line in each of the last five years received bonus payments in each of those years; what the  (a) amount of bonuses paid and  (b) largest single payment was in each year; and if he will make a statement.

Bob Ainsworth: holding answer 15 October 2007
	Members of the armed forces do not receive bonus payments as part of their basic pay package however all personnel who meet the eligibility criteria are paid the tax free Operational Allowance. The tax free Operational Allowance was effective from 1 April 2006 and came into payment in November 2006.
	The amount of the largest single payment is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	For financial year 2006-07 35,983 armed forces personnel received payment of the Operational Allowance, totalling £44.77 million. As a proportion of the strength of the armed forces at 1 April 2006 this represents about 18 per cent.
	For financial year 2007-08 to 30 September 2007,28,114 armed forces personnel received payment of the Operational Allowance, totalling £14.13 million. As a proportion of the provisional strength of the armed forces at 1 April 2007 this represents about 15 per cent. The marked difference in value between financial year 2006-07 and financial year 2007-08 to date is due to a smaller entitled population and a number of payments being made in advance at the end of financial year 2006-07, prior to closedown of the system for army implementation of JPA.

Ballistic Missile Defence: USA

Phil Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  what discussions his Department has had with the US Administration on plans to develop missile silos and x-band radar on land or sea bases in the UK;
	(2)  what discussions he and officials from his Department have had with the US Administration on plans to site interceptor missiles or related equipment in the UK.

Des Browne: holding answer 16 October 2007
	The Ministry of Defence continues to discuss ballistic missile defence issues with the US Administration. It is not the practice of the Government to make public details of all discussions with foreign governments as this would, or would be likely to, prejudice international relations. As I set out in my statement of 25 July 2007,  Official Report column 72WS, we have no plans to site missile interceptors in the UK.

Meteorological Office: Information Officers

David Gauke: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many press officers are employed by the Meteorological Office.

Derek Twigg: The Meteorological Office currently employs four full-time and one part-time press officer.
	All may deal with other communications issues, including internal communication or marketing tasks.

Nuclear Weapons: Transport

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether in-house provision of the service for the road transport of nuclear weapons by HM Naval Base Clyde is still under consideration.

Bob Ainsworth: We are not proposing to pursue that option, the operation will remain with AWE plc for the foreseeable future.

Reserve Forces: Deployment

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many volunteer reservists in each service are deployed on operations.

Bob Ainsworth: As at 31 August 2007 (the latest figures available), the number of volunteer reservists deployed on operations was:
	
		
			   Royal Navy Reserve  Royal Marines Reserve  Territorial Army  Royal Auxiliary  Air Force 
			 Telic (Iraq) 26 9 169 66 
			 Herrick (Afghanistan) 6 0 397 45 
			 Oculus (Balkans) 1 0 15 0 
			 Sierra Leone and Democratic Republic of Congo 0 0 0 0 
			 Global Counter Terrorism 0 0 6 0 
			 Total 33 9 587 111 
		
	
	In addition, there were 627 reservists mobilised on pre-deployment training, receiving medical treatment, or on post operational leave.

Doha Trade Talks

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will make a statement on the Doha development round of international trade talks.

Gareth Thomas: Negotiations on all aspects of the Doha Development Agenda continue to take place at the WTO in Geneva. The UK Government remains fully committed to working with the EU Trade Commissioner, other EU member states and other WTO members to secure an ambitious, pro-development outcome to the Doha Round.

Corruption

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will make a statement on the Government's policies for combating corruption in aid recipient countries.

Douglas Alexander: Corruption is a serious threat to development. DFID's policy is to build effective states that promote development and invest significantly in efforts to address corruption and improve governance.
	DFID regards anti-corruption as a priority and discusses this with partner governments when agreeing and reviewing its Country Assistance Plans. These plans are informed by a comprehensive governance analysis and assessment of local priorities.

Developing Countries: Natural Disasters

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps his Department has taken to minimise the impact of natural disasters in developing countries.

Shahid Malik: DFID's policy on Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR)(1) is to support measures to prevent and mitigate the impact of natural disasters at the global, country and community level. At the global level, DFID is supporting DRR programmes through the Geneva-based UN International Strategy for DRR, the World Bank, the ProVention Consortium of Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) and the International Federation of Red Cross Societies. DFID is also supporting the community-level DRR work of five NGOs.
	DFID's support for DRR through its regional programmes includes the Chars Livelihoods Programme in Bangladesh, which has helped raise 32,700 households on plinths above the flood level; the Caribbean Catastrophic Risk Insurance Facility, to enable governments to jump-start recovery efforts after disasters; and an NGO Consortium for DRR in Niger, which aims to strengthen vulnerable communities. Following the Government's commitment to allocate up to 10 per cent. of each emergency response to a natural disaster to DRR, where appropriate, DFID is supporting DRR in Indonesia; the Indian Ocean Early Warning System; UN capacity-building in climate adaptation; and the World Health Organisation Disease Early Warning System and institutional capacity-building in Pakistan.
	(1) See DFID's policy paper 'Reducing the Risk of Disasters—Helping to Achieve Sustainable Poverty Reduction in a Vulnerable World'. ISBN 186192 751 7 (deposited in the Libraries of the House).

Delegation and Coherence

John McDonnell: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what progress has been made in implementation of the policy statement Delegation and Coherence issued by the Cabinet Office in September 2006.

Gillian Merron: holding answer 10 October 2007
	Cabinet Office officials continue to work with departments and the civil service unions to implement the key areas identified in the statement to improve operation of the delegated pay arrangements. Discussions have taken place with Heads of Professions and departments on greater pay coherence for similar workforce groups; a set of reward principles has been published to inform departmental reward strategies; the Treasury's annual Pay Remit Guidance has been strengthened to help narrow unjustified pay gaps between departments; and we are currently considering the scope for improving the delegation process and identifying areas that can be managed more corporately.

Departments: Publications

Grant Shapps: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for North-East Hertfordshire (Mr. Heald) of 26 March 2007,  Official Report, column 1393W, on Departments: publications, if he will place in the Library a copy of the July 2007 edition of the Central Office of Information's White Book.

Eric Pickles: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will place in the Library a copy of the July 2007 edition of the Central Office of Information's Whitebook.

Gillian Merron: The publication of the White Book is being prepared to reflect the changes in departmental boundaries and responsibilities.
	The new edition will be published and placed in the Library next month.

Olympic Games: Greater London

Hugh Robertson: To ask the Minister for the Olympics if she will place in the Library a copy of the cashflow forecast for the Olympic Delivery Authority.

Tessa Jowell: holding answer 15 October 2007
	 Details of the Olympic Delivery Authority's cash flows for 2007-08 are included in the ODA's 2007-08 business plan summary, published on its website. A copy of which is in the Libraries of both Houses.
	Chapter 20 of the CSR White Paper published on 9 October sets out the Government's contribution for the next three years (2008-09 to 2010-11). The balance of the funding requirement will be met, as planned in March 2007, from contributions from the Mayor of London (GLA and LDA); from funding already coming in from Olympic lottery games; from funds from the Sports Lottery Distributor; and from the funds to be transferred from the National Lottery Distribution Fund, subject to affirmative resolution in both Houses.
	Further details of cash flows will be set out in future business plan summaries.

Olympic Games: Greater London

Hugh Robertson: To ask the Minister for the Olympics how much it will cost to rent all facilities not located on the Olympic park necessary to stage the London 2012 Olympics, broken down by venue.

Tessa Jowell: holding answer 16 October 2007
	The London Organising Committee for the Olympic games (LOCOG) have informed me that they have set aside an allowance of circa £30 million for arrangements for non Olympic park sporting venues.
	LOCOG are not currently in a position to disclose further information, by venue, as they are still negotiating terms with some of the venue owners and to do so would prejudice their commercial interests.

Taxation: International Civil Servant Status

Harry Cohen: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people in the UK have international civil servant status for tax purposes; what such status means in terms of allowances and exemptions; and if he will make a statement.

Jane Kennedy: Under UK tax law there is no such person as an "international civil servant". However, officials of the United Nations who are sometimes referred to as international civil servants. There is no requirement for visiting officials to notify HM Revenue and Customs of their presence in the UK. Those who are present in the UK for a sufficient length of time to become resident in the UK will be dealt with locally. Information is not collated centrally.
	The UK tax position of employees of the United Nations is set out in the United Nations and International Court of Justice (Immunities and Privileges) Order 1974. This provides immunities and privileges that are normal for international organisations. It includes among other things that officials of the UN shall be exempt from income tax on remuneration received by them from the UN. UN Officials are however subject to a form of internal tax operated by the UN, which is referred to as the Staff Assessment.

Unemployment: Peterborough

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what proportion of the 18 to 24 year old population of the Peterborough constituency was not been in education, training or employment in each quarter since the second quarter of 2001; and if he will make a statement.

Angela Eagle: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 17 October 2007:
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking what proportion of the 18 to 24 year old population of the Peterborough constituency has not been in education, training or employment in each quarter since the second quarter of 2001. (158648)
	The Office for National Statistics (ONS) compiles statistics for local areas from the annual local area Labour Force Survey (LFS) and the Annual Population Survey (APS) following International Labour Organisation (ILO) definitions. Quarterly data are not available for parliamentary constituencies.
	The table attached shows the numbers of 18 to 24 year olds not in full-time education, employment or training, resident in Peterborough for the 12 month periods ending in February for 2002 to 2004 from the local area LFS and for the 12 month periods ending in March for 2005 to 2007, from the APS. The table also shows these numbers as the percentage of all 18 to 24 year olds in the area for each year.
	Estimates for a subset of the population in a small geographical area are based on very small sample sizes, and are therefore subject to large margins of uncertainty.
	
		
			  Persons aged 18 to 24 who are not in full-time education, employment or training resident in the  Peterborough  constituency 
			  12 months ending  Number ( Th ousand)  Percentage of all 18-24 year olds 
			 February 2002 2 25 
			 February 2003 2 18 
			 February 2004 2 21 
			 March 2005 2 27 
			 March 2006 2 26 
			 March 2007 2 25 
			  Note: Estimates are subject to sampling variability.  Source: Annual local area Labour Force Survey; Annual Population survey.

Written Questions

Eric Pickles: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he will answer Question 120846, on domestic taxation and house prices in Northern Ireland, tabled by the hon. Member for Brentwood and Ongar on 6 February.

Jane Kennedy: The hon. Member's question was transferred from the Treasury to the Northern Ireland Office. I understand that the former Secretary of State (Mr. Hain) said in his reply of 19 February that the matter is now the responsibility of the Northern Ireland Executive.

Bankruptcy: Elderly

Richard Spring: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how many people in  (a) England and  (b) Suffolk aged 60 years or over declared themselves bankrupt in each year since 1997.

Patrick McFadden: Bankruptcy statistics broken down by age as well as by region are currently only readily available on the basis of the locations of official receivers offices (each of which cover a group of county courts where the cases are heard and the courts having jurisdiction over these), and for the years 2000 through to 2006.
	The table on the following page provides estimates of numbers of individuals aged 60 years and over declared bankrupt in the regions considered to be closest to those requested, but they should not be treated as completely accurate statistics because date of birth is not recorded for all bankruptcy cases over the period covered and also because regional statistics based around the jurisdictions of official receivers are not consistent with county or country level geographies.
	
		
			  Estimated numbers of bankruptcy orders, individuals aged 60 and oven 2000 to 2006 
			   Bankrupts aged 60 years and above by geographical area 
			   England and Wales  England  Anglia  Ipswich 
			 2000 973 924 137 22 
			 2001 1,068 1,027 143 18 
			 2002 1,289 1,249 182 23 
			 2003 1,637 1,566 233 23 
			 2004 2,149 2,059 296 25 
			 2005 3,126 3,042 471 38 
			 2006 4,796 4,622 720 72 
			  Notes:  1. Anglia region covers the following OR offices: Cambridge, Ipswich, Northampton, Norwich, St. Albans, Southend-on-Sea. 2. Ipswich's OR office covers the following county courts: Sudbury, St. Osyth, Ipswich, Colchester and Clacton, Braintree.

Legal Aid

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what further plans he has to meet representatives of the legal profession and other organisations with an interest or involvement in the delivery of legal aid to discuss the future direction of the Government's legal aid reform plans.

Maria Eagle: My noble Friend the Lord Hunt of Kings Heath, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State has met a wide range of representatives from the legal profession and others with an interest in legal aid since he became the responsible Minister. He will continue to do so over the coming months to discuss the future direction of legal aid following completion of the introduction of the new fee schemes.

Ambulance Services: West Sussex

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average  (a) response time for emergency ambulance call-outs and  (b) time before admission to hospital following emergency call out was in West Sussex primary care trust in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

Dawn Primarolo: Information on average response time and time before admission to hospital is not available. The closest equivalent measures of average response time are percentage of response times within eight minutes and 19 minutes.
	Information on percentage of response times within eight minutes and within 19 minutes is available in tables 6 and 7 of the "Ambulance Services for England 2006-07" report.
	This information is available for 2002-03 to 2006-07 for each Ambulance Service Provider in England. Data for 2006-07 are not directly comparable to data for earlier years due to the re-organisation of Ambulance Service Providers in 2006.
	Data for West Sussex is not available; however, Sussex on a whole is shown. Complete Sussex data is available until 2005-06 and only for quarter one in 2006-07 due to the re-organisation.
	The "Ambulance Services for England 2006-07" report is available in the Library and is also available at:
	www./ic.nhs.uk/statistics-and-data-collections/audits-and-performance/ambulance/ambulance-services-england-2006-07
	Data is not available on time before admission to hospital as timing stops when an emergency vehicle arrives at the scene of the incident.

Chlamydia Infection: Screening

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how many 16 to 24-year-old  (a) males and  (b) females were tested for chlamydia infection as part of the National Chlamydia Screening Programme broken down by primary care trust in each year since 2003-04; and what proportion of 16 to 24-year-olds this represented in each year;
	(2)  how many tests for chlamydia infection have been undertaken in the 16 to 24-year-old age group in the year 2007-08 to date  (a) in England and  (b) broken down by primary care trust; and what percentage of 16 to 24-year-olds this represents in each case.

Dawn Primarolo: For the National Chlamydia Screening Programme, as at March 2007, there were 220,147 females and 49,993 males between the ages of 16 to 24 who provided a primary care trust (PCT) postcode of residence, who were tested for chlamydia in England. PCT data for 2003-04, 2004-05, 2005-06 and 2006-07 has been placed in the Library.
	Information is not currently available by PCT or by the number of tests undertaken within genito-urinary clinics. The number of diagnoses of uncomplicated chlamydia infection in 16 to 24-year-olds in genito-urinary clinics in England by strategic health authority and sex for 2006, is given in the following table.
	
		
			  Strategic health authority  Gender  Number of diagnoses 
			 East Midlands Male 2,473 
			 East Midlands Female 3,454 
			 East of England Male 2,184 
			 East of England Female 3,304 
			 London Male 4,468 
			 London Female 6,619 
			 North East Male 1,774 
			 North East Female 2,196 
			 North West Male 4,723 
			 North West Female 6,121 
			 South Central Male 1,771 
			 South Central Female 2,681 
			 South East Coast Male 1,515 
			 South East Coast Female 2,041 
			 South West Male 2,563 
			 South West Female 3,084 
			 West Midlands Male 2,476 
			 West Midlands Female 3,265 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber Male 3,304 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber Female 4,434 
			 England Male 27,251 
			 England Female 37,199 
			  Notes: 1. Data are only available up to the calendar year 2006. 2. Data are not available at the PCT level. 3. Data on the number of test for chlamydia infection are not available. 4. The data available from the KC60 statutory returns are for diagnoses made in GUM clinics only. Diagnoses made in other clinical settings, such as general practice, are not recorded in the KC60 dataset. 5. The data available from the KC60 statutory returns are the number of diagnoses made, not the number of patients diagnosed. For example, individuals may be diagnosed with several co-infections and each diagnosis will be counted separately. 6. The information provided has been adjusted for missing clinic data.  Sources: 1. KC60 returns. 2. Health Protection Agency.

Herbal Medicine: EC Law

Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what estimate he has made of the numbers of herbal products currently on sale in the United Kingdom which will require registration under the Traditional Herbal Medicinal Products Directive if they are to remain on the market; by what date applications for registrations must be made to ensure continuity of supply; and by what date the products will become illegal if not successfully registered;
	(2)  how many applications for registration of herbal products have been received by the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency; and how many positive decisions the Agency has taken to register herbal products under the Traditional Herbal Medicinal Products Directive;
	(3)  what assessment he has made of the number of herbal products which are likely to become unavailable to specialist retailers as a result of the inability or reluctance of manufacturers to submit applications for registration of such products under the Traditional Herbal Medicinal Products Directive; and if he will make a statement;
	(4)  what steps are being taken by the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency to maximise the opportunities afforded under the Traditional Herbal Medicines Products Directive and other legislation to allow the continued availability of long-established herbal products whilst maintaining appropriate safety standards.

Dawn Primarolo: The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has so far received applications for traditional herbal registration in relation to 29 products from a total of nine different companies. Five registrations have been granted and the other 24 applications are under assessment. In the light of discussions with individual companies, the MHRA expects steady growth in the number of applications received and registrations granted. The rate of build up of the scheme is reflective of the extent to which many companies needed to acquire expertise, for example in the manufacture of herbal medicines to systematic quality standards, before they could be in a position to submit applications.
	Under provisions in Directive 2004/24 /EC, unlicensed herbal medicines legally on the United Kingdom market at 30 April 2004 under section 12(2) of the Medicines Act 1968 received transitional protection until 30 April 2011. Following discussions with industry and the former Better Regulation Task Force the MHRA decided not to require companies to notify the agency of products for which transitional protection was claimed. Accordingly, there is no estimate of the number of products on the UK market being sold legally under section 12(2) but which cannot legally be placed on the market after 30 April 2011.
	We do not believe it is realistic to specify a date by which applications need to be made in order to secure continuity of supply. Time taken by the MHRA to assess applications depends on a number of factors including the quality of the application and how quickly the applicant responds to queries raised by the MHRA. The MHRA is giving extensive help to the industry through individual company meetings. Guidance to industry has stressed the importance of companies progressing their applications now if they wish to ensure continuity of supply.

NHS: Repairs and Maintenance

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the cost of backlog maintenance was in the NHS in each year from 1997-98 to 2006-07  (a) in total and  (b) broken down by NHS organisation.

Ben Bradshaw: The total backlog maintenance for England is provided in the following table.
	
		
			   Total backlog maintenance  (£ million) 
			 1997-98 2,836 
			 1998-99 3,027 
			 1999-2000 3,108 
			 2000-01 3,242 
			 2001-02 3,378 
			 2002-03 3,517 
			 2003-04 3,193 
			 2004-05 3,142 
			 2005-06 3,684 
			 2006-07 3,740 
		
	
	Information for national health service organisations has been placed in the Library.
	The data is as provided by the national health service and has not been amended centrally. Its accuracy and completeness is the responsibility of the provider organisation. Trusts that have not provided data or have provided a zero response have been omitted for brevity.
	Investment to reduce backlog maintenance will be prioritised locally based on risk assessment, reconfiguration planning and available resources. The majority of the backlog maintenance relates to low priority work, which will be undertaken through ongoing maintenance programmes or replacement of facilities. Where higher risks are present, work will be undertaken as a priority.